


Aunty Nat and the Science Man

by widowshulk



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bruce Banner Angst, Clint and Laura Barton's Family, F/M, POV Bruce Banner, Trigger: Hulk hurts people close to Bruce
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 06:14:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5857285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/widowshulk/pseuds/widowshulk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Clint and Laura's wedding anniversary and Natasha has offered to babysit for them, taking Bruce along to keep her company. Seeing Natasha with the kids stirs up some hard feelings for Bruce and he's confronted with what it would like for him to have a family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aunty Nat and the Science Man

**Author's Note:**

> Part of 52 Stories in 52 Weeks  
> ↳ Week 4: A story about three siblings

“Remind me again why we’re doing this?” Bruce asked as Natasha pulled up at the farmhouse.

 

“It’s my best friend’s wedding anniversary and they needed a sitter,” she replied, shutting the car off.

 

“Don’t they have a sitter they could pay to do this?”

 

“Sure, but I offered. It’s part of the friendship thing,” Natasha said, getting out of the car.

 

Bruce rolled his eyes and followed her up to the house. He wasn’t sure why he’d agreed to do this; he couldn’t think of a worse way to spend an evening, except for, you know, an alien attack or something. He had no experience with kids and he’d only met the Barton kids once before and he hadn’t exactly been at his best then.

 

“You’re just here to keep me company. Take your book and hide out in the kitchen. You don’t have to do anything, okay?” She paused outside the door, wanting to make sure their conversation was finished before going inside.

 

Bruce nodded. “Sure.”

 

“They’re good kids. They’ll keep out of your way.”

 

Bruce smiled to reassure both her and himself, but it didn’t achieve much of anything.

 

“Good.” She lightly kissed him and smiled back at him.

 

She knocked on the door and muttered, “It’ll be fine, doc.”

 

Moments later, the door opened and they looked down to find Cooper frowning up at them.

 

“What’s up, Coop?” Natasha asked, bending down to his height.

 

“Why do Mom and Dad get to go out and have fun?” he asked with a pout.

 

“Are you saying you don’t think we’re gonna have fun?” Natasha asked with mock horror.

 

“I guess not…” Cooper said.

 

“So can we come in?” Natasha asked.

 

“Okay.”

 

Cooper stepped back from the door and wandered into the house, leaving Natasha and Bruce to follow him in.

 

“Mom!” they heard Cooper yell. “Aunty Nat’s here with the science man.”

 

Laura poked her head around the living room door and ushered them in. She was all dressed up in slinky purple dress with matching shoes and she’d pinned her hair up to frame her face. She looked amazing.

 

“I love your dress,” Natasha said.

 

“Thanks, Nat. Sorry, we’re running late. Cooper decided to hide all of our good clothes to stop us going out tonight,” Laura explained as she took them through to the kitchen.

 

“Well you look beautiful,” Natasha reassured.

 

“Thanks, Nat. They’re playing upstairs for now, but I’m sure they’ll be down when they get hungry. Can I get you guys anything?” she asked.

 

“You finish whatever you need to do, we’ll make ourselves comfortable,” Natasha said, heading straight for the tea kettle.

 

“Great,” Laura said, rushing off in search of her husband.

 

“Tea, doc?” Natasha asked.

 

“Please,” he answered with a nod.

 

She made her way through the kitchen, fixing them both a cup of tea. He stood in the doorway watching her work, not sure what to do with himself. He felt all out place here in someone else’s house, but to Natasha, this was almost like a second home to her.

 

“You can sit, you know,” she said, taking a seat at the table with the two cups of tea.

 

“Right, sure,” he said, sitting opposite her.

 

“Relax, you’re freaking me out.”

 

Natasha looked up behind Bruce and made a low whistling noise.

 

“Very fancy,” she teased.

 

Bruce turned, following her gaze, and saw Clint dressed in a black tux, fiddling with his cufflinks.

 

“Too much?” Clint asked.

 

“Just the right amount.”

 

“Hey, man, I didn’t know you were coming too,” Clint said to Bruce.

 

“Natasha wanted the company,” Bruce explained a little awkwardly.

 

“It’s all good. We’re about ready to go. Kids are in the living room. Standard rules apply, but you know what you’re doing, right?” Clint asked Natasha.

 

“I’ve got this. Go show your gorgeous wife a great time,” Natasha said, grinning at him.

 

“We’ll be back around eleven. Thanks, again,” Clint said, before taking off through the living room.

 

They could hear Laura and Clint saying goodbye to the kids and then Laura called, “Bye.”

 

“Bye, have a good night,” Natasha called back.

 

Natasha smiled at Bruce, trying to make him more comfortable, but he felt like an intruder here. She belonged here, this was basically her family and he knew he was welcome here, but something just felt wrong to him.

 

“I’m gonna hang out with the kids,” Natasha said, getting up and placing her cup into the sink. “You good here with your book?”

 

He nodded and she left him alone to read.

 

The kids were only in the next room, so it wasn’t the most peaceful place to read, but the contented laughter and excited talking brought a smile to Bruce’s face. He listened for a while, not feeling the need to read and distract himself; he wasn’t sure going in and joining them would be the best idea, but this way he felt like he was a part of something. Having all that joy so close to him, it was a nice feeling.

 

After a little while, he settled into his book, but still kept an ear on the other room, listening to arguments about the best Disney character and whether it was ‘spaghetti’ or ‘pasghetti’. The chatting was actually kind of peaceful, which surprised Bruce; he’d expected to be completely unable to concentrate on anything.

 

Gradually, the noise in the living got louder and there was even the occasional squeal, so he decided to go and check it out. Hovering in the doorway, he watched as Natasha picked them up one at a time and threw them around in the air. All her training was being put to excellent use; she showed no signs of being worn out.

 

Watching her like this made his heart ache. He’d never seen her happier than she was in this moment, he’d never seen her smile so bright. Her joy was infectious; the kids were delighted, they screeched with excitement as she threw Nathaniel into the air once more.

 

No matter how many times Natasha would tell him she was okay with their life together, a part of him knew that this was what she wanted. He’d never be able to make her smile like that; he’d never be able to give her what she truly desired. As he stood there staring at them he tried to imagine what their potential family could even look like.

 

_“Shh!” Bruce whispered as he creeped up the stairs, armed with a tray of food and followed by two small children. “We don’t want to wake Mommy.”_

_The children looked at each other and stifled a giggle before heading up the stairs. They stopped outside a door and Bruce turned and kneeled in front of the children._

_“Are you ready?” he asked quietly._

_They nodded excitedly._

_“When we get inside, what are you going to say?” he asked._

_The two of them looked at one another, clarifying that they were on the same page._

_“Happy Mother’s day!” they exclaimed in a whisper._

_“You’ve got it.” Bruce beamed at them and stood to open the door._

_The children were barely in the door before they yelled, “Happy Mother’s day!”_

_Bruce saw Natasha sit up instantly. He knew she hadn’t really been asleep, but she was as wonderful an actress as ever, and the children would never know that she hadn’t been sleeping._

_“Good morning,” she said, opening her arms to them._

_They bounced up on the bed and she enveloped them in her arms, kissing the tops of their heads._

_“We made you breakfast,” the boy said, pointing to Bruce who was stood at the end of the bed with the tray still in his arms._

_“You did? Wow, thank you!” Natasha said as the girl rushed to take the tray from Bruce. Her brother helped her carry it and they deposited it on Natasha's lap._

_Bruce perched himself on the end of the bed and watched as the children doted on Natasha._

_“What is all this?” she asked as she looked at everything on the tray._

_“Pancakes,” the boy said. “And syrup.”_

_“Coffee, too. Daddy made that though because we’re too little,” the girl said._

_“And this is your gift for being the best Mommy,” the boy said, pointing to a small box at the side of the tray._

_“This all looks amazing, thank you both so much,” Natasha said, kissing them._

_Natasha looked up at Bruce and smiled at her and he felt himself melting with happiness._

_“Do you think we should make some room for Daddy up here?” Natasha asked._

_“Okay,” the children said reluctantly, shuffling to make room for Bruce at the top of the bed._

_Bruce settled himself on one of the pillows and pulled the girl onto his lap to make sure she didn’t miss out on anything by being too far down the bed._

_“Are you going to open your gift?” the boy asked._

_“Of course,” Natasha said, reaching for the gift._

_The boy reached for the gift at the same time and the tray wobbled, spilling hot coffee all over Bruce, who was caught completely unawares. He blinked as the pain burned through his legs and when he opened his eyes, everything was green. He was rage personified. He could hear screaming and crying, but he didn’t care. He reached down to the boy who’d hurt Banner and threw him to the window. The glass smashed as the boy went straight through it and there was a faint thud as the body hit the ground. The woman and the girl were crying and the woman tried to pull the girl to her, but Hulk got there first. He grabbed the girl, the girl who’d made Banner softer than ever, and threw her to join her brother._

_“Bruce,” he heard the woman say as she reached out a hand to him, tears flowing down her face._

Bruce returned to reality when Lila let out an excited screech in the living room. His hands were shaking and he could feel himself crying. He tried to walk back to the kitchen, to get away from the Barton kids and Natasha, but he was too weak. He was shaking all over and his legs couldn’t support him any longer. He tried to cling to the wall, but couldn’t stop himself from dropping to the floor. His body heaved with silent sobs as he wrapped himself up as tight as possible; he hugged his knees and dropped his head onto them, not deserving to be a part of the world around him.

 

He tried to think about anything else, but he just kept replaying the scene in his mind, and each time he did, it felt like he was being stabbed in the heart. He couldn’t breathe, the pain was too much to bear, and it was pressing down on him, tearing him apart from the inside.

 

No, it wasn’t the pain tearing him apart, it was Hulk. Hulk didn’t want Bruce to feel this pain, so he was fighting to get out. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, not like in the vision, he just wanted to protect Bruce, but Bruce couldn’t let that happen. He lifted his face and gulped for air, taking deep breaths, trying to keep his heart rate down. There was every likelihood that if Hulk did get out, this house and everything in it would be destroyed. Bruce couldn’t let that happen.

 

He sat there for a few minutes, trying to regain his composure, when Cooper came out of the living room and spotted him.

 

“Doctor Bruce?” he asked cautiously. “Are you all right?”

 

“Hey, Cooper,” he said, forcing a small smile. “I’m fine, I think I tripped over your cat and I was scared to get back up in case it came back.”

 

“He does that to me all the time.” Cooper laughed.

 

“I think he might be evil,” Bruce said, easing himself up.

 

“That’s what Dad says, but Mom won’t let us get rid of him because he’s got nowhere else to go.”

 

“That’s nice of her.”

 

“She’s always nice like that.”

 

“So I’ve heard.”

 

“I’m going to get a drink from the kitchen,” Cooper said, wandering off.

 

Bruce turned to look at the living room and he saw Natasha eyeing him suspiciously. Bruce shrugged and smiled at her, but he knew she wasn’t buying any of it for even a second. She turned back to the room, and he started dreading the conversation they were going to have later.

 

* * *

 

 

The night passed uneventfully and Natasha had worn the kids out so much that they didn’t even protest when she told them it was time for bed. After she put them to bed, she staggered into the kitchen and Bruce grabbed her a beer from the fridge.

 

“I’m fucking exhausted,” she said, and dropped into a chair. “There are so many of them.”

 

“They had a good time,” Bruce offered.

 

“So did I.”

 

“You’re so good with them. They adore you.”

 

Natasha dropped her head onto the table for a few moments. When she finally raised her head again, she took a swig of her beer and said, “I don’t know how they do it every day.”

 

“They probably don’t spend two hours throwing the kids around.”

 

“They wouldn’t let me stop.”

 

“I know.”

 

They both paused, wondering if the other was going to bring up what had happened earlier.

 

“You want to talk about it?” Natasha asked, knowing she didn’t need to elaborate.

 

“Not really,” Bruce said. “Can I ask you something, though?”

 

She nodded and took another gulp of her beer.

 

“Do you regret not having kids?”

 

She shook her head. “Not for a minute.”

 

“You didn’t even think about it.”

 

“I don’t need to.”

 

“So you’re happy with our life?”

 

“More than I ever thought possible.”

 

Bruce took a moment to process that and he finally believed it; she wasn’t looking for an escape route to find somebody to give her a family, she loved _him_. He felt a hundred times lighter; the grief he’d been carrying for his imaginary children was lifted and he knew the pain wasn’t real. He’d been pining for a life he’d thought Natasha wanted, and now knowing that she didn’t want it, he realised he didn’t either. He’d been so focused on how impossible it was that he hadn’t actually thought about what he really _wanted_. There was no pressure now, and he knew that their life was already perfect.

 

“C’mon, doc,” Natasha said, bringing his train of thought to a stop.

 

She stood and reached a hand out to him.

 

“Where are we going?” he asked.

 

“Somewhere more comfortable.”

 

She took him into the living room and she threw herself onto the couch. She patted the empty spot next to her and Bruce sat. She rested her head on his chest and laid her arm around his middle; he wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead.

 

It didn’t take long before her breathing slowed and she started to snore, albeit quiet snoring. He pulled her in as close as he could without waking and he finally found peace. This was all he wanted and all he needed, an incredible and strong woman who accepted him and all of his big, green flaws. They didn’t need anything else to make their lives more meaningful, they’d done that all on their own.


End file.
